This'll Be Our Legacy
by Naomi Ricard
Summary: Everyone wants to take a long roadtrip with their best friend, right? That is exactly what Gabriel Novak and Crowley McLeod have thought since freshman year. Now they're all grown up, and are ready for the adventure of a lifetime. They're prepared for the road ahead; everything from budgets to dealing with each other 24/7. At least, that's what they think. [AU]
1. Prologue

**This'll Be Our Legacy  
**_by Naomi Ricard_

* * *

**Prologue**

This was it.

It was finally here. The adventure that they'd been planning since freshmen year; the adventure of a lifetime.

Well, okay, the planning was mostly on Crowley's part, but Gabriel was the one who'd titled it an adventure, so he certainly deserved some of the credit.

They'd finally got enough money together to buy what Gabriel had titled as "the perfect adventure transport", more commonly known to the public as a hippie van. The VW Transporter Type II had been listed on Craigslist for $1200, as it was being sold by a person Gabriel had termed as an "ex-hippie". Truthfully, the man had never been a hippie to begin with, but he'd bought the van due to it being all he could afford at the time. Despite the fact that Crowley had done his best to convince his friend of this, Gabriel insisted he knew exactly what had happened and pretty much refused to acknowledge the truth.

So Crowley had finally, albeit grumpily, given up on convincing Gabriel of anything after about two hours.

And that was part of the story that ended with the purchase of the van; the new story that was just beginning was starting to unfold in the driveway of the Novak family house.

Gabriel was lounging in a white, plastic lawn chair that he'd pulled out of the garage, watching his younger brother and sister bring suitcases and other things out of the house like he'd enlisted them to. They were his favorite siblings, as they could be coerced into doing all of his work if he tried hard enough.

After all, Castiel was always eager to please.

"How's it going, love?" A voice sounded from behind him, causing Gabriel to whip around with a grin.

"Great," he said, pulling the cherry Tootsie Pop out of his mouth. "Cassie and Anna have almost all the stuff in the driveway. I told them not to bother packing it 'cause they'd fuck it up."

"Lovely," Crowley replied with sarcasm, flicking his eyes over to the two working siblings. "You know, you probably want to get over this laziness of yours if you actually want to complete this trip like we've planned."

Gabriel sighed and turned back around in his chair. "It'll go fine, Crowles. Trust me."

Crowley looked at the blond with skepticism. "How many times have you said that? And what's the ratio of 'trust me' to the thing going bloody wrong?"

"It's like," Gabriel paused, thinking. "I'm pretty sure it's 50/50."

Castiel, who'd obviously been listening in on the two friends' conversation, paused and set his box down on the ground. "Crowley said the ratio, Gabriel," he said, his deep voice traveling over to the yard. "If it's 50:50, then your plans go wrong 100% of the time."

"Shit," Gabriel muttered.

"Sounds about right," Crowley added.

Gabriel gave him a look that was only about half-amused before turning back to look at his brother. "Is that the last box, Cassie?!"

Castiel sighed heavily and looked pitifully at Gabriel. "Yes," was all he said.

"Hells yeah!" Gabriel said excitedly, jumping up from his chair. "We're almost ready to go, cupcake! Isn't this awesome!" He raced across the yard to where the boxes were scattered and Castiel was standing.

"We're not quite there yet, darling," Crowley said, ever the practical of the two. However, the eighteen year old also made his way across the yard to join the other.

"You better be happy, Gabriel," a feminine voice said, sounding unpleasant. "Castiel was going to go hang out with the Winchesters, but we decided to help you instead."

"Calm down, Anna," Gabriel replied, giving Castiel a quick squeeze around the shoulders with his arm. That was always sort of difficult for Gabriel to accomplish, considering his little brother was quite a bit taller than him. "Besides, it only affected Cassie. What'd it do to you?"

The redhead stepped out of the garage, her braid over her bare shoulder in the summer heat. "I missed my movie marathon on FX," she confessed, straightening her white tank top.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Like that was important."

"It was," Anna insisted. "They had a complete showing of all the Lord of the Rings movies. Legolas. Come on." She knew she wasn't going to receive any sympathies from her one year older brother, but it never hurt to at least pretend as though she thought she would.

"The only thing I remember from those movies was the gay elf and the gay dwarf," Gabriel said, shrugging and making Anna roll her eyes in turn.

"No one was gay in that movie," Castiel said, looking down at Gabriel.

Crowley, meanwhile, was simply observing the siblings. He always found it entertaining when Gabriel would interact with his family. The only one he never really argued with was Castiel, and even then he was bound to say something that would offend the younger one. As an only child, Crowley found the whole thing rather amusing.

"You would know," Gabriel retorted, winking at Castiel.

Castiel looked off to the side. "You know, Gabriel, I really wish you would let that go."

"Not a chance." Gabriel clicked his tongue.

Anna promptly turned around and walked inside, her khaki shorts shuffling as she walked. Castiel followed his sister, ignoring Gabriel. He hated it when Gabriel teased him, he really did, but it wasn't like he was about to bring that up. He would just get teased about that, too.

"Well," Gabriel announced, clapping his hands together. "What do you say we start loading up?"

Crowley smiled, something he didn't do often. "That sounds like a brilliant idea."


	2. Chapter One - Too Many Questions

**Chapter One - Too Many Questions, Not Enough Plans**

_Gabriel dashed up the polished wooden stairs, racing through the front door and slamming it shut behind him. Lucifer, one of his two older brothers, was sitting on the couch watching some tacky horror flick. Probably one of the Saw movies, knowing him.  
_

_"Whoa, Gabe," Lucifer spoke, as though Gabriel would stop. Which he actually did pause at the bottom of the stairs that led to the second floor of their house, and turned around to look at his brother. "What are you doing?" Lucifer asked, not really accusing, but somewhat suspicious all the same.  
_

_"I'm busy, Luci," Gabriel answered impatiently, rolling his eyes. "I do have a life, you know."  
_

_Lucifer scoffed. "Yeah right. You're a freshman; you don't have any kind of life outside of being horny over girls and vanilla porn." He redirected his attention towards the TV.  
_

_In response, Gabriel stuck out his tongue. It was childish, yes, but it was a habit he'd picked up and a tactic he'd used since he was four. "You're stupid. You just watch dumbass movies on TV and can't get laid to save your life," he retorted.  
_

_Lucifer ignored him, watching some girl being torn to shreds and breasts flying.  
_

_Scowling, Gabriel added, "I don't have time to deal with your shit, Luci."  
_

_He turned around sharply, putting as much attitude as he could muster in his five foot body. Lucifer still didn't to notice or care. This just caused Gabriel to scowl more as he marched up the stairs, pounding on each step with all his might.  
_

_Once he reached the top of the stairs, he turned around and shouted, "Fuck you, Luci!"  
_

_While there was no verbal response from Lucifer, his other older brother, Michael, yelled from the kitchen, "Watch your language, Gabriel! Swearing is a sin!"  
_

_"God, shut up, Michael!" Gabriel yelled in return. With that, he left the top of the stairs and ran down the hall to his room with the same intensity he'd run into the house with. Honestly, Lucifer and Michael could go fuck themselves; he had important business to attend to, and it didn't require either of those dicks to be involved.  
_

_When he entered his room, he shut the white door carelessly behind him. In the center of the room, sitting on a rug he'd had for way too many years, was his best friend.  
_

_"Crowles, you're here!" Gabriel exclaimed, overjoyed to see his friend. He hurried over and sat down beside him, tossing him a Kit-Kat.  
_

_"Excellent observation, darling," Crowley said, smirking in the way that Gabriel had grown so familiar with.  
_

_"You know what I meant," Gabriel said, smiling as Crowley's expression caved into a smile of his own. "I didn't think you'd be here yet."  
_

_Crowley let out a short laugh. "Yes, I do know what you meant." He grabbed the orange-packaged candy in his hand, and tore the wrapper open just slightly. "So, about the thing that you simply could not contain your excitement for earlier... What was it?"  
_

_Gabriel ran his hands through the colorful, rainbow rug excitedly, and then paused in anticipation. "I've got the most bestest idea of all time ever."  
_

_Though he would correct it if it were coming from anyone else, Crowley let his friend's terrible use of incorrect vocabulary slide. "Oh really? And what is this brilliant idea of yours?"  
_

_A grin spread across Gabriel's face. "The longest, amazing, most fucking awesome roadtrip ever."_

* * *

"This is going to be the most fucking awesome thing ever," Gabriel said excitedly, practically jumping in the passenger's seat.

After Gabriel and Crowley had loaded up the van, they'd spent one last night at Gabriel's family's house before leaving them for, well, however long they were going to be out on their planned excursion. After a night of restful sleep, which was something neither of them had ever gotten when Crowley spent the night at Gabriel's house, they'd gotten up and eaten breakfast. No matter what negativity Gabriel had to say about Michael, he couldn't say that his oldest brother's cooking wasn't excellent. He had even made Gabriel's favorite; chocolate pancakes with chocolate chips.

Once they'd finished breakfast, they were outside in the driveway by 5:30AM. There were good-byes all around, though some had been less than 'good'. Surprisingly, Lucifer gave Gabriel a hug, even though his bid of farewell was somewhere along the lines of, "Good riddance, you pain in the ass."

Both Anna and Castiel had given Crowley a hug, which he had definitely not been expecting. He reciprocated it, however, and hugged them back. Michael had just given him dirty glares the entire time, like he had ever since Crowley and Gabriel had gotten out of middle school. It had never bothered Crowley, but it still caused him to wonder on occasion was the whole death glare thing was about, and what he had done to warrant it in the first place.

They'd then loaded themselves into the van, no more ceremoniously than the luggage they'd loaded the night previous; Crowley in the driver's seat and Gabriel in the passenger's. They'd driven down the road, which brought about Gabriel going on about how explicitly awesome their trip was going to be.

Crowley hit the turn signal and glanced at Gabriel. "It will be what you make it, darling," he said matter-of-factly, looking back at the road and pulling an expertly executed turn.

"Then it will be doubly-awesome, like me." Gabriel reached behind his seat and grabbed a box of Pop Tarts. He had insisted they pack a ton of snacks, which Crowley viewed as excessive.

"Most surely," Crowley replied, pulling out of the suburbs where Gabriel's family had lived for over a decade.

Gabriel opened a package of the cinnamon roll flavored pastries and that was the end of the conversation. Crowley was rather relieved; he wasn't big on conversations in the morning, even with Gabriel. Not like the other didn't know that, considering Crowley had stayed numerous mornings at his house after sleepovers.

They passed all the places they'd gone as kids: the Walgreens that always smelled like odd bread rolls and pine; the family-owned ice cream parlor where the two had spent countless summer afternoons; the library that they'd been banned from their junior year after being kicked out more times than they could remember; and other places that held an array of unique memories to them.

It was rather reminiscent, their drive out of town. No longer were they those children, sitting and eating ice cream or causing trouble in convenience stores. They were still partners in crime, definitely, but their dynamic—their relationship—had a different undertone than before, though neither cared to mention it.

They were about thirty miles out of their hometown before either spoke a word. Of course, it was Gabriel who broke the comfortable silence that Crowley was perfectly content with.

"So, where are you driving to?" Gabriel asked, looking around him. There was nothing but hilly, grassy plains for miles, but he supposed that was eastern Colorado consisted of.

"As a current endgame, or for today?" Crowley replied. He was more prepared for conversation; at least the sun was all the way up.

Gabriel thought about it for a brief second. "Both," he concluded, looking at Crowley expectantly.

Crowley didn't take his eyes off the highway, though he sighed as he always did when he Gabriel an exasperated look. "Well, the endgame for this trek east is still up for discussion, angel, since you didn't help with the planning originally." Gabriel 'tsk'ed, as though to tell Crowley he was wrong and he had helped a lot with the planning. "For today, I was thinking we could go to my aunt's house and stay there for the night."

"Your aunt's house?" Gabriel asked, his jokingly skeptical tone surfacing. "Where does she live?"

"Kansas City," Crowley answered simply. "She lives in the Kansas half."

"Kansas City?" Gabriel repeated. "We're right outside Castle Rock, sunshine. It's going to take all day to get across Kansas from here."

Crowley glanced at Gabriel with a raise of his eyebrow. "Is that not the idea?"

"True." Gabriel leaned back in his chair. "How long is it before lunch?"

"Jesus, you and your questions," Crowley said teasingly. "What are you going to ask me next?" His tone was good spirited; thank god Gabriel hadn't been pestering him earlier before he was even awake.

"Hmm," Gabriel hummed, thinking of an obnoxious question. "What's your condom size?" he asked, a smirk planted firmly on his face.

"Large enough to pleasure any woman any way I want," Crowley answered.

Gabriel snorted. "You were expecting that, weren't you?"

"I know you too well, love," Crowley said fondly, something in his voice that just could not be described.

"Hells yeah, you do," Gabriel agreed, playfully punching him in the arm to break the air that had just formed between them.

Crowley blew a harsh breath from his nose and shook his head, as though to say Gabriel was completely ridiculous.

They sat in silence once again. Crowley watched the road, and Gabriel watched Crowley drive.

Crowley's driving was entrancing, to say the least. Gabriel had always loved watching him drive, ever since they were both sixteen and behind the wheel. The way his hands would slackly rest on the wheel, but grip it tight when he pulled a turn; the way his eyes were always so focused on the road and nothing could distract him.

Well, outside of Gabriel. Through their many experiences with driving with each other and others, Gabriel found that he was the only thing that had even the slightest chance at distracting Crowley from the road. And that made him feel special, not that he'd ever mention that to Crowley. Because that was weird.

Crowley drove and Gabriel stared. They both had a unique feeling that was going to be how a lot of the trip was going to go.


	3. Chapter Two - What A Lovely Boyfriend

**Chapter Two - Oh, What a Lovely Boyfriend You Have**

The blond and brunet finally stopped for lunch at around one, due to the former's incessant begging for sustenance. And by sustenance, he meant fast food, because that was simply the kind of person he was.

It surprised Crowley, to an extent, how his friend never put on extra weight, but had always remained on the lean side the entire time he'd known him. Gabriel's eating habits were nothing to be spoken of; if it was processed beyond recognition, filled with sugar or high fructose corn syrup, or what anyone else would classify as junk food, Gabriel considered it to be his dietary staple. In the past, Crowley had wondered what had possessed him to befriend someone who considered Funyuns a vegetable. Over time, however, he'd come to accept that Gabriel's eating habits were part of what made him Gabriel, and his immunity to high cholesterol and having a heart attack at the age of fifteen were a part of his uniqueness as well.

So, they ended up at an Arby's in Salina, much to Crowley's dismay. He would've much rather eaten at a place with class, but he knew that it would've been an unwise use of money. Besides, Arby's was about as classy as one could get in the fast food area of things, so he supposed he shouldn't be complaining.

Gabriel, on the other hand, was more than thrilled to be anywhere that served cheap meals on buns.

Gabriel was standing in front of one of the soda fountains, debating what to get for a drink while Crowley filled his own cup with diet Pepsi at the opposite fountain.

"Mountain Dew or Pepsi?" Gabriel said out loud to himself, his eyes darting at both intermittently. "Mountain Dew or Pepsi?"

Placing a lid on his soda, Crowley looked at Gabriel and said, "Just make a decision, love. Though please don't get Mountain Dew; there's so much caffiene in it and you have to be in the car for the next few hours without distracting me and getting us in an accident."

"The van," Gabriel corrected, his usual shit-eating grin making an appearance on his face. "And now that I think about it, I feel like Mountain Dew." He turned to the machine and placed his cup against the correct tab.

Crowley shot an exasperated expression in Gabriel's direction before heading back to the booth for two, where their food was sitting.

Crowley unwrapped his chicken sandwich and took the plastic knife beside him, cutting the sandwich in half. Gabriel, on the other hand, raced past Crowley to his seat across and sat down, placing his cup on the table so roughly Crowley could hear the drink sloshing against the sides of the paper cup.

Gabriel ran back over to the soda fountains, only to return seconds later with about five little cups of ketchup. Crowley gave him another exasperated look, but Gabriel ignored it, electing to instead dip a curly fry in one of the ketchups.

"How much longer do we have to go, Crowles?" Gabriel asked, taking a sip from his drink.

"About two and a half, three hours," Crowley said, picking up half of his sandwich. "We'll get there around four-thirty if you keep going at the pace you are."

"Nah," Gabriel replied, popping a fry into his mouth. "I'm slowing a bit."

"Thank god."

Gabriel laughed. "You're welcome, cupcake."

The Arby's was nearly empty, due to it being past lunch time and a work day for most. The two friends ate in silence. They were both hungry, despite Crowley not being nearly as vocal about it as Gabriel had been, and Crowley wanted to be alone with his thoughts. As much as he enjoyed being around Gabriel, he couldn't say that it wasn't exhausting to deal with his near constant hyperactivity. There had been times Crowley had witnessed where Gabriel hadn't had his usual happy-go-lucky front on, and most of the time he chose to forget they had happened.

Gabriel hopped up suddenly, knocking Crowley out of his ponderings. "I'm gonna go get another thing of curlies, okay?"

"What are you waiting for, then?" Crowley asked, swatting at Gabriel as he passed. "Go get your fries."

He watched Gabriel carefully as he walked over to the cashier. He ran his eyes over his friend, thinking. About what in particular, Crowley wasn't exactly sure. Even if he had been sure, he wouldn't have said.

Gabriel talked to that cashier, who in turn rang up his order and told him to wait at the front for his food. He leaned up against the wall and turned to Crowley, smiling in his usual manner. Crowley returned it in a smirk, then facing back to his sandwich and taking a bite. He supposed it wasn't too bad, for fast food anyway.

After Gabriel got his second container of fries, Crowley patiently waited for him to finish eating them. He tapped his finger in succession on the table, watching Gabriel licked his fingers in a positively indecent way.

Crowley shifted in his seat and cleared his throat, a way both he and Gabriel had developed in questioning if the latter was done. Seemingly, it was always Gabriel who took the longest in eating his food, and neither one of them really knew why. Especially when Crowley was the classier of the two and had better manners.

* * *

It was nearing the end of their trip for the day, Crowley realized, taking the last remaining sip of his soda.

He glanced to his right, smiling softly at Gabriel, who was sleeping with his head supported by his seatbelt. The blond always looked so peaceful when he slept, and Crowley had quite often seen his friend when he was most quiet. There was something oddly reassuring about how Gabriel's usually wild features would soften, leaving a face who knew little yet too much at the same time.

Crowley redirected his attention towards the road, watching the final plains pass by as the van entered the city.

No matter how many times he'd been here as a child, Kansas City still held a special fascination for Crowley. Growing up in a smaller town, big cities had always excited him, not that he'd let anyone else know he ever got excited over anything.

He drove past familiar sights, like a buffet his mother had once forced him to when he was five. In his opinion, the food had been repulsive, and he was sure his mother and aunt has held the same conclusion. Another was the cinema he'd seen countless movies in with his aunt; movies she had always payed for, even in his teens. She'd also always bought him Junior Mints, a popcorn, and a drink of whatever he'd felt like on any given day.

The street that eventually led to his aunt's neighborhood came upon him and he took a left, starting down the mildly winding road. It curved in some parts, making way for the enormous, gorgeous trees. The trees were happy, leafed out fully and various shades of bright green.

Crowley pulled into the driveway of his aunt's rather large house before shaking Gabriel awake.

"Wake up, darling," he said, a hand firmly on Gabriel's shoulder.

Gabriel awoke with a jolt. "Wha-? Huh? I'm up!" He blinked rapidly, looking around and finally resting his gaze on Crowley. "Where are we?"

Crowley resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "We're at my aunt's house, you twat." Granted, he did mean the insult in jest. Kind of.

Best friends irritate each other sometimes. What could he say?

"Oh, yeah," Gabriel said, an expression of dawning upon his face. "What are we waiting for? Let's get out."

"Originally, I was waiting for you get up," Crowley supplied.

Gabriel ignored him and opened the door. "Aren't you coming?" The blond asked after noticing that Crowley had not made an effort to move.

"You may be sexy, love, but not enough for that to happen just by glancing at you." Crowley knew it wasn't exactly his best retort, but it would have to do.

On the other hand, Gabriel gave him a chuckle. "Ha ha, real funny, Crowles." He hopped out of the car.

"A set of rules first," Crowley said, opening his own door to let himself out. "One, call my aunt by her name. No weird names like you give everyone else."

"You love my names!" Gabriel said defensively, not too mention in a tone that was entirely too loud.

Crowley didn't dignify him with a response. He was attempting to be somewhat serious here, after all; something his friend never was. "Her name is Tabitha, and I think you should address her as such, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." It was clear Gabriel wasn't really paying attention to anything Crowley was saying.

"Secondly, just please behave. She has put up with me for a long time, yes, but you... She's never met you, and I don't want her to get the wrong idea."

"Wrong idea?" Gabriel said, both incredulous and amused.

Crowley, however, sighed. "Yes, wrong idea. That's all I'm asking. Don't break stuff."

Gabriel saluted as though he were in a military line-up. "Ay, ay, Capt'n Cupcake."

This time, Crowley didn't bother to smother his eye roll.

The pair walked around the side of the house to the front door. As they reached the patio, they heard loud music blaring from inside the house.

Gabriel gave Crowley a questioning look with a slight cock of his head, but Crowley ignored him like he was so used to doing.

The music stopped, however, after Crowley knocked sharply and harshly on the door five times. The sound of feet scurrying across a wooden floor now sounded from the inside, and the doorknob twisted.

When the door opened, an older woman—around forty years of age—was revealed. She was petite, around five feet, which was smaller than either Gabriel or Crowley. She had vibrant dark hair, not yet speckled by aging gray.

"Crowley, darling, how marvelous it is to see you!" she said, her face instantly lighting up as she recognized her nephew. "What's brought you here?"

Crowley returned her expression. "The feeling is mutual, Aunt Tabby." He stepped into the house, pulling Gabriel along by the hand, as she moved out of the doorway. "My friend and I are working on traveling the states, and we were wondering if it would be acceptable to stay here for tonight? I do apologize for not calling ahead." He wasn't as great of a planner as he liked to think he was.

"Nonsense," Tabby said, closing the door behind the two boys. "You're always welcome here, honey." She led the both of them to a den that was decorated with pictures of her and dead animals; animals that had found their way taxidermied on her wall.

"Would you like some tea?" she asked, heading towards the adjacent kitchen. "Or would soda pop suffice?"

Gabriel paused from studying the room and shot his attention over to Tabby, his face lighting up. He got way too enthusiastic over soda, Crowley swore.

"I'll take tea, please, and this loon will have water."

Gabriel gave Crowley a look of joking disdain. "I can't believe you would deny me such an natural right."

"Your natural rights are to life, liberty, and property. I don't see how a soft drink is included in any of those," Crowley said matter-of-factly, smirking.

"Being a dick isn't in there either, but you seem to think it is."

"I never claimed such, dearest."

Crowley took a seat on the brown suede sofa and Gabriel followed suit. Watching his friend continue to survey the room, he pointed at a squirrel that sat upon a short bookshelf and held a tiny acorn. "You see that squirrel?"

Gabriel turned his attention to where Crowley was pointing. "Yeah. What about it?"

"I was the one who got it. I even taxidermied it myself." There was a pride in his tone. "That was when I was... ten, I want to say."

Gabriel nodded. "So this is what you did when you left that summer without saying goodbye." Though Gabriel's voice sounded joking, Crowley could tell there was something darker behind the words.

"Yes," was all Crowley said in response.

Tabby reentered the room, carrying a can of Coca Cola and a mug of tea. "I heard what you wanted, sweetie," she said to Gabriel, handing him the can. "I know that my nephew can be a stubborn arse at times," she added as she handed the decorated mug to Crowley.

"Hells yeah. Thanks, Tabby," Gabriel said, obviously having picked up on her preferred nickname and using it, damning what Crowley had said.

"You're very welcome," she replied with a smile, sitting down in the chair opposite the couch. "You should introduce yourself, since Crowley hasn't."

Crowley gave an exasperated noise before sipping his tea, allowing Gabriel to indeed introduce himself. "I'm Gabriel, or Gabe. Or darling, if you're Crowley," he said with a laugh. "I'm the love of his life," he added, leaning on Crowley as he spoke.

Crowley, however, was not amused in the slightest. His eyes widened, he swored internally, and, if he'd been a lesser person, tea would have come out of his nose. Instead, it went down the wrong pipe, causing him to nearly choke.

"Oh really," Tabby replied, with a twinkle in her dark eyes. "Crowley, what a lovely boyfriend you have."

And that was the straw that caused Crowley to nearly slam his mug down on the coffee table in front of him. "He's not my boyfriend, Auntie," he said sternly, restraining himself enough to place the mug on the table much more softly than he wanted to.

In the mean time, Gabriel was humored by the whole thing of events, and he'd even turned to recline on the couch and place his feet in Crowley's lap.

"He's just a stupid bugger of a friend."

Tabby nodded. "Of course, Crowley, of course."

"Hella, Crowley, of course," Gabriel added, nudging Crowley's crotch with his shoe, earning a death glare from him.

The best way to describe Tabby's reaction to the whole thing was amused. "I can certainly see why the two of you are the best of friends."

Crowley gave her an exasperated and borderline angry look. "Really? What makes you think that?"

"Think what? That you're the best friends?" She chuckled. "It's easy, Crowley. You don't go trekking across the country with someone who isn't your lover or best friend. And since you're in blatant denial of the first..." She gestured towards the two of them; Gabriel was grinning like an idiot and Crowley was just irritated.

"Yes, absolutely, I should have known." Maybe Crowley should have thought twice about visiting Aunt Tabby. While she had always been one of his most favorite people in the whole world, he had not taken into account the variable that was Gabriel.

"I have to piss," Gabriel piped up, straightening himself out so that his feet were on the floor where they belonged.

"Down that hall," Tabby said, pointing to the darkened hallway opposite the kitchen. "Last door on your right."

"Thanks." Well, Gabriel wasn't on too bad of behavior. He was usually much, much worse, Crowley decided.

After Gabriel was out of earshot, Tabby turned to Crowley and gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, honey," she murmured, moving to the couch to join her nephew and rub his shoulder in comfort.

"It's alright, Auntie. I've come to terms with it," he said bitterly, his mouth pursed tightly as he glared at the ground. There was no use denying it; she could read him like a book, and he knew it.

"I'm sure you have," she said, pulling him into a hug. "But I probably shouldn't have teased you like that. I could tell as soon I saw you two at my door."

"Splendid. I'm lucky Gabriel isn't nearly as sharp as you," Crowley said with a humorless chuckle following.

"He's quite a character," she offered, stroking Crowley's hair. "I guarantee you this thing you have with him will turn out for the best."

Crowley nearly snorted in disbelief, but chose not to. "What makes you think that? He's a complete prat."

"But you care for him anyway. And I'm sure you're a prick to him on regular basis, are you not?" She gave him a knowing look, and Crowley couldn't help but nod. "You're still friends. Something tells me, just from the way you two interact, you'll be even better off as lovers."


End file.
